BecauseI'm your Bodyguard
by LoversnPeril7
Summary: I wanted to tell her that I love her but she's still in love with him so I'm willing to sacrifice my own happiness for her own. Because I love her and because I'll always be her bodyguard...One-shot..One-sided Narusaku, SasuSaku. Rated M for language.


**Authors Note: I wanted to give a good portrayal of Naruto's feelings on how he would react if Sakura and Sasuke got together and this is the result. Honestly, I do like reading stories that can make me cry so I wanted to make one for those who are like me also. There is no Sakura-bashing, it's just how I thought she would react in this situation. Sasuke had already killed Itachi and Jiraiya is already dead in this one. **

**PLEASE READ THE BELOW:**

**ALSO A BIG RECOMMENDATION TO DO WHILE READING THIS FIC!!!!! **

**PLEASE LISTEN TO THESE SONGS WHILE READING THIS FIC!! YOU HAVE THE 2 OPTIONS BECAUSE IT WAS WHAT I WAS LISTENING TO THE WHOLE TIME WHILE WRITING THIS:**

**"INSA" BY HERO **

**OR**

**"THOSE LIPS" BY AJ RAFAEL**

**You can find them on youtube so please listen to it while reading this fic. **

**Okay I won't keep you anymore!!!! Enjoy!!!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!!!**

Because…I'm your Bodyguard

It was one of those days. Sakura and I were just having our daily lunch date at Ichiraku's and we were laughing about something that I said. Probably something about one of the pranks I used to do. It was weird, the relationship between Sakura and me. Sometimes we were so close that others would think it was intimate but the look in Sakura's eyes meant that she only felt for me like family. I watched her closely as her nose wrinkled as she laughed; her eyes were starting to sparkle as tears were starting to form. Man, I must have said something really funny this time. Another funny thing is that I've been in love with her for the past seven years I've known her.

Ever since the day I first saw her in the playground. She was being bullied around because of her big forehead so I came in and intervened. Because her bullies were bigger than me, I ended up getting beaten up instead but as long as she was safe, I was fine. Once they were done with me, they left me alone with her and that was also when I was able to take a good look at who I tried to rescue. The moment my eyes laid on her, my heart began to beat even faster than I thought was humanly possible. She had adorable and silky looking pink hair that you wouldn't find on anybody any day and her eyes was a brilliant shade of emerald and I thought if I stared into them any longer, I would have lost myself. She was crying and so being the gentleman that I was, I wiped her tears away and cheered her up.

"I don't think you're forehead is big at all! I think that it's the perfect size and it makes me want to kiss it!"

She had blushed then at my comment but nonetheless, I could tell that she appreciated my saying that. We talked a bit more before she had to leave and it was at that moment when I realized that I had met an angel. But then she didn't remember me afterwards because her mom told her to stay away from me.

My thoughts and reminiscing were interrupted when Sakura hit me slightly on my arm to get my attention.

"BAKA! I've been calling you for the past couple of minutes. What's wrong with you?"

I rubbed the back of my head and apologized. "Sorry Sakura-chan but I was just remembering some of the……old times. What were you saying?"

Her eyes softened once she heard my reason and looked ahead of her. I watched her sudden change of demeanor and I thought first if it was something I did but then I saw the emotion in her eyes. Even though she was looking away from me, I could tell what she was thinking like the back of my hand and right now, she was thinking about _him._ I knew that her feelings for him never waivered but somehow inside, there was this ounce of hope telling me that she might give me the chance and time of day.

Without realizing it, my hand moved on its own and went to tuck in a strand of hair that had fallen on her face making her turn towards me. She still had that look on her face only this time there was a bit of confusion. And once again, my body moved before my mind could register it.

"Sakura-chan……don't worry…I'll get him back for you." I took a pause because I was trying to figure out what to say next. I already started talking so might as well finish. She turned her body towards me to give me her full attention. "I…I don't _ever_……_ever_ want you to feel this way again so I'm going to make sure that _I_ keep my promise and I'll bring him back that way, you won't be sad…ever again."

Sakura looked a bit shocked at my words before she closed her eyes with her brow furrowed something she did when she was thinking about something. I waited for her to say something because at the moment, I was unsure of the situation. Maybe I went a bit too far……or maybe…just maybe she's considering for me to not go through with my promise to her…to not try to endanger myself for something so trivial. But I knew that that wasn't the case when she looked back at me. There was appreciation…gratefulness……and other emotions that represented thankfulness but…there was none of the emotion that I had hoped for there to be…I hoped that there would be some love for me but there wasn't any.

"…Thank you Naruto…you don't know how that grateful I am to have such a great best friend like you. True you may be idiotic at times but I'm really thankful that you still wish to go through with your promise to me. You've always been my…bodyguard, in a lack of better terms."

There it was…the word that I hated when it came to her views of me.

_Friends……not just friends but __**best**__ friends…and her bodyguard…there was nothing of love…_

So that was all she thought of me. I tried to relinquish the heart-wrenching pain inside of my chest by rubbing on it unconsciously, grateful that she didn't think of it too much. I smiled my usual fake smile but this time I made it even more believable since Sakura had come to figure out how my smile worked. She knew when I was feeling down and what not but in truth, I've been hiding my feelings inside. Of course, I still asked her on dates almost every time I could and she would knock some sense in me as usual but then end up going with me if I pay.

I started to speak as she listened intently. "Sakura-chan……I just wanted you to know…that I'll never let you get hurt…" I paused and gave a true sincere smile towards her and my next words brought out a laugh. "Because…I'll be your bodyguard. I know you don't need it…but think of it this way; I will always protect you in any way that I can if I can't help it. I know that you're strong on your own……I mean, you're the apprentice of a sannin. But just at the times when you aren't ready for, I'll be there."

Sakura then surprised me when she embraced me suddenly. It took a while before the action was processed through my mind. Slowly, my hands moved to return the hug and held on tightly. I wasn't sure when I would have another chance to hold her like this. One of my hands was gently running fingers through her silky blossom hair while the other was rubbing little circles on her back. I leaned my head in the crevice of her neck and breathed in deeply, trying to ingrain every detail I could with her scent, her aroma of strawberries…and vanilla. It was rather perverted of me but I needed it because I knew I would never fall in love with anyone else than this cherry blossom in my arms.

She tightened her hold on me and for some reason, my heart rate spiked thinking maybe she was starting to grow feelings for me. I felt her lean back so I pulled away but she didn't let go of me yet. This time the look on her face was something I definitely couldn't read. At the moment, there were no one else but me and her and I let my body move on its own accord and leaned in slightly, taking my time. I looked deeply in her eyes wondering and silently asking her if I should continue and there were no looks of disgust but curiosity.

She was letting me kiss her! So I continued to lean in and we were now breathing each other in. My heart started to beat ultimately fast and my vision began to get hazy so I looked all half-lidded. She stared into my eyes one more time before hesitatingly closing them, giving me the go and I leaned in hoping to feel her luscious lips against mine. But like I said, luck is never on my side. Someone had suddenly called our names, bringing us out of our stupor and we both let go of one another, blushes adorning our faces.

_Damn it…why did someone have to interrupt us of all times?_

Someone burst inside of Ichiraku's and it happened to be Shizune. She was all out of breath so it didn't take a genius that she ran looking for us.

"Sakura! Naruto! Sasuke's-" she heaved in a deep breath before continuing. "Sasuke, he's back! He's at the gates wishing to come back!"

Before I could even stand up, Sakura was out the door already. I followed right behind her leaving Shizune back at Ichiraku's. I watched her from behind and I noticed how erratic her movements were. It was then that it dawned on me.

_Is…it Sasuke that's making her act like this?_

My heart once more felt that all too familiar ache but I tried to ignore it and went after her to go the gates. Then just when the gates were in view, Sakura used a burst of chakra to make herself faster and then by the time I got there, she was already there embracing our old teammate. I landed softly and slowly walked towards them, shocked at what I was seeing. Sasuke, the rather emotional and blunt jackass he always was, was hugging Sakura back and even placed a couple of kisses on the top of her head. He was whispering something to her the whole time and she was crying on his shoulder. She leaned back and smiled at him and that's when my heart began breaking even more.

It was weird to watch the rather romantic scene. Even though I felt as though my heart had burst into pieces…I was happy…that she was finally smiling her true smile. She had lost it the night Sasuke had left and had taken into forming fake smiles like mine. Though through the years, not once had I seen that smile appear for me. It hurt inside but people can't help who they fall in love with just like how I can't help being in love with her. As my vision started to blur, I realized that I was on the verge of crying but I wouldn't allow myself to in front of them. So I sucked in as much air as I could and leaned my head back so my eyes would be cleared before walking towards them.

Sasuke looked up at me and smiled softly, which surprised me a bit before returning it with one of my own. Lifting up a hand, I waved curtly as he reached them. Sasuke was still trying to stop Sakura's crying so I spoke up. "Hey teme…making Sakura-chan cry again? You haven't even been here for ten minutes and you already made her cry. What am I going to do with you?"

Sasuke gave a small smirk at my comment before continuing to soothe Sakura from her tears. "…Sakura…shh…it's okay…I'm here now…"

I couldn't stand to see the mushiness so I changed the subject. "So teme…what made you decide to come back?" Sasuke looked up to me and then looked away as he watched the one I love in his arms. "…because…this is my home..." He took a pause and gave a small kiss on her head again. "…even though…I knew what I was doing by leaving the village…it was always my intention to come back…"

Then he turned to look at me once more before speaking. "…I'm sorry…Naruto. That day…I tried to kill you and…I truly…didn't mean for it to go that far……but it was the only way I could fool Orochimaru into taking me in."

I looked into his eyes and saw the pleading look within so I chuckled and put a thumb up. "I knew the Sasuke-teme I know was still in there somewhere-ttebayo!!" Sasuke laughed at my antics and replied back to me. "…hn…dobe…you still haven't changed at all."

Suddenly Tsunade appeared with Kakashi-sensei beside her and the rest of the Konoha 9. Everyone was a bit uncomfortable since they weren't sure how to act since Sasuke had came back. Tsunade stepped up and spoke first. "Uchiha Sasuke! Shizune has told me that you wish to return to Konoha…is that true?"

Sasuke whispered to Sakura something and she got up away from him as he stepped forward in front of Tsunade. Then the next thing he did made all of us shocked and surprised. He knelt on both knees and leaned his forehead against the dirt in a traditional bow. "Hokage-sama…for everything I did to Konoha, I apologize. I was wrong and I will atone for my sins in any way that I can but all I'm asking is for a second chance so please……let me come _home._"

Tsunade looked at the boy who had nearly killed me twice and then to me asking me silently within her eyes, if she should accept or not. I knew what I was doing and I stepped forward while everyone watched me. I went beside Sasuke and helped him up, surprising him but obliged anyway. I looked at him and started to speak.

"Even though you hurt all of us, your very _friends_, the day you left and even tried to kill me more than once. You left us seeking power from someone who would only take your body in the end and you didn't even care to see if we were okay after leaving us. No _'_hey how are you guys?' or 'sorry I didn't mean to go overboard?' but just a 'stay out of my way'…"

Sasuke winced as he heard the hurt in my voice and casted his eyes downward. Then I smiled and continued. "…but nonetheless……not once did I give up hope that he would return to us someday…because…no matter what……he will always be my brother…"

Sasuke's eyes shot up to meet mine and I smiled at him before giving him a nice slug on the arm. He smiled appreciatively at me and then we heard crying so we turned to our right. There was Ino and Sakura holding onto one another while crying and yelling out, "That w-was s-such a nice s-speech!!!!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and we both turned to see what the verdict was.

Tsunade simply stood there staring Sasuke down with her 'glare' before…popping out a smile. "Okay then!! Sasuke welcome back to the village!! You will be on house arrest for three months and after that you can start taking tests to get to your official rank but you can only perform missions inside the village until a year passes, and then you can perform missions out of the village. Oh and if you betray the village once more…I will not hesitate to come and look for your ass and give it a good hard beating. Understand? Okay then!"

Tsunade then shunshined back to her office leaving everyone else there. Everyone started to bombard Sasuke questions as they all started to leave and head towards the BBQ joint while I stayed behind. I didn't want to be there and watch Sakura all over Sasuke once more so I turned to the direction of my place and made my way home not noticing that a certain pinkette had slipped away from the group and was catching up to me.

"Naruto!" I turned around and saw Sakura so I stopped waiting for her to catch up. "Where are you going? Everyone's headed to the BBQ place!"

I looked at her and forced a smile on my face. "Oh I was just going to go home for a bit…all this mushiness is……" I made a face that earned me a bonk of my head before continuing."…and besides, now that the teme's back, we'll have more time to catch up…so don't worry about me. I know how much you want to see him."

Sakura looked at me uncertainly so I reassured her by pushing her forward towards the BBQ joint. "Now go! Go! Go! Go!" She laughed and waved bye to me and caught up with everyone. I looked at them all and inside, I knew I was jealous. Now everything will be back to how it used to be, Sasuke first, and dead last, second. Instead of walking back to my place, I made my way to the Hokage's office.

I opened the door and screamed out, "Baa-chan!!!" earning me a flying desk to which I almost did not duck. I rubbed the back of my head in a sheepish manner before going inside.

"Naruto what is it?" Suddenly Genma and Kotetsu came in with a new desk in tow and placed it in front of Tsunade and even took the papers that were on the floor and placed them properly on her desk. They left afterwards and I shook my head trying to remember what I was going to say once more.

"I'd like to begin training for ANBU." Tsunade, who was taking a sip of her sake, suddenly spit it out onto my face and questioned me while I took the liberty to wipe my face clean. "What do you mean training for ANBU!?" After my face was clean again I continued speaking.

"I want to further my training so that I can reach Hokage already so I need ANBU training. I know I'm not ready to take the test but I'd like to start preparing for it." Tsunade looked at me and her next line of words was not expected. "You do know, Naruto, that if you pass the ANBU test, you are required to quit your team, don't you?" I looked at her and found no trickery or joking manner in any way so I thought about it long and hard. If I was correct, ANBU training takes about over half a year so around maybe, nine to eleven months so that should give me enough time to catch up with them and warn them about it.

"I understand Tsunade-sama." She fell off her chair once she heard me address her properly. "Wh-Who are you?! Where is the gaki?! What did you do to him?" I didn't expect the attitude also when I had decided to address her with her right title. "Well…I thought I should get used to it…most of your ANBU address you as either 'Tsunade-sama' or 'Hokage-sama' so I thought if I become ANBU, I need to be a bit more respectful." Tsunade gave a good hearty laugh before nodding her understanding. "Alright gaki! You'll begin your ANBU training in a week with Yamato and Kakashi, occasionally taking turns with you. Also if you want to learn more, then I would advise asking Sai, since he's an ANBU. Here are some preparation scrolls and what your uniform should be and what supplies are needed. Now go! I have to finish the rest of the paperwork."

I bowed and exited before going to the shopping district of Konoha. I opened one of the scrolls and it gave me a brief description of what I needed to wear. I kept walking until I reached one of the ninja gear stores. The owner nodded at me and I nodded at him back and went to the back and reread the required clothing o the scroll.

"…black body suit...black pants…steel plated gloves and shoulder pads…" I started picking out everything I needed and I went to the fitting rooms to try them on. After putting the clothing on, I walked in front of the mirror and looked at myself. "……not bad…even though the armor is reinforced steel, it's quite light-weight…" I was pleased with what I saw and I dressed back in my regular clothes. As I walked towards the register, I noticed that there was this cool looking sheath that held up to three swords and you could attach it to the back so I got one also.

I paid for everything and made my way to the blacksmith to see if I can get my swords already. I walked inside and picked a standard ANBU katana and then decided to customize the other two. I found a matsumane that was heavy but still usable for one-handed combat and I also found a reverse blade katana to my liking. I went to the blacksmith and asked for an engrave sign.

"What would you like on these two?" I thought about it and then answered him. "I'd like a fox, Kyuubi if you can. Just as a representation…not like the real thing." The man nodded understandingly before telling me that it would be ready for me tomorrow. I left and then went home. I was intending to start studying the scrolls but then sleep came and got me.

A few hours later, I woke up to a sound of a knock on my door. Not realizing that I had taken my shirt off during my sleep, I walked drowsily to the door and opened it.

"…hello?" I rubbed the sleep out of my eye and then I heard it. "…oops sorry Naruto. Did we wake you?" I looked at her and noticed that it was Sakura so I woke myself up instantly. I gave out a smile and noticed the shadow behind her and she was not alone. "Sakura-chan…Sasuke-teme…what are you guys doing here?" They came inside and the one thing that I definitely noticed was that they were holding hands.

I stared at their hands a while longer and as they turned around they noticed what I was looking at and chuckled sheepishly. Before I could question it, Sasuke spoke out.

"Naruto…we…we wanted to tell you first that Sakura and I have decided to get together…and we want your blessing."

Everything around me crashed down as that phrase kept repeating over and over again in my head. They noticed my silence so they spoke once more.

"Dobe…are you okay with this?" "Naruto is this okay?" I pushed all of the pain to the back of my mind and smiled brightly for the two important people in my life. "Okay?! Of course I'm okay with this! Sakura you finally got Sasuke's attention after all those years and Sasuke, you finally returned her feelings. Congratulations you two! Wow, this is going to be a bit weird." Sakura and Sasuke looked at me once I said that last bit. "Not that I'm against it! I'm just weirded out at the fact that the teme finally got together with someone and here I thought he was gay!"

That definitely earned me two hits on the head and then we started talking and catching up. I realized that ANBU would be my way of getting out from between them. So I decided to tell them what my plans were.

"…ok so I'm not sure if you guys are going to like what I'm going say or not so here it goes." I waited for their undivided attention and once again, I noticed the pair playing with one another's hands. "…so…I'm going to be leaving Team 7 in a year…" before I could quite finish, both of them stood up outraged. "What the HELL do you mean dobe?" "What the HELL Naruto?!" I held up my hand to quiet them before finishing up what I was going to say.

"Like I said, I will be leaving Team 7 in a year because…I'm going to be joining ANBU around that time. I just got approved to start training next week and all ANBU are required to leave their teams before joining."

And after that night, I avoided them as much as I could by pushing myself to my limits and occasionally they were the ones who came around. Okay so I didn't avoid them that well but how could I when we are associated with the same people. They were the ones pushing to see me and even changing their schedules so that they could spend time with me and of course were still able to have dates with one another. I decided that I might as well spend as much time with them as I could since I would be leaving them soon.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months and every time Sasuke wasn't there, I took my spot as her bodyguard even though I wasn't needed anymore. And the day that Sasuke had gotten an early excuse out of his probation to go with us for a mission altogether, the teme got hurt.

Sakura wasn't there with us so she found out about it once we came back with Sasuke injured. Tears had welled up in her eyes and once I put him on the stretcher, I was going to tell her what had happened and then that's when she pushed me out of the way. I tried to ignore the hurt and pain I held inside and tried to get her to calm down and she pushed me out of the way. She then turned towards me and said the most hurtful thing she ever did.

"WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE? WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE THE BLOW FOR HIM? WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT HIM LIKE YOU PROTECT ME?" She was in a hysterical state and left with Tsunade who was dragging her to where Sasuke was. Tsunade had looked at me and I could see the disappointment in her eyes before disappearing from my sight.

And I was once again left alone. I had hid my wounds on my side with my cloak and I turned around to leave, knowing that I was, at the moment, unwelcomed. Kakashi was already inside getting his wounds treated so I left the hospital and my legs wandered to my favorite spot on top of the Yondaime's head on the mountain. I had just started to feel the effects of the poison that was running through my blood and I cursed inside. My vision became weary and as if the gods had known, it started to rain. I sat there at the edge of the mountain and I looked at the blood running down the edge and onto the city.

I knew deep inside that she didn't mean it, that she was just worried about Sasuke and that everything would be fine tomorrow but I couldn't lie to myself that it hurt really, really badly. Well Kyuubi wasn't doing his job efficiently so I took the liberty and got a kunai and stabbed myself where I was wounded so that I could bleed out the poison. I could feel it rushing out of my body and my skin regenerating so that it could close the wound.

I sat there for a few minutes longer before getting up and walking home. I arrived a few moments later and walked in, locking the door behind me and headed towards the bathroom and walked inside the shower before turning it on. I let the water spray on me and I looked down watching the blood being washed away. I closed my eyes and then I saw her face again. She was so disappointed with me when she yelled at me and her face was full of anguish and hurt and betrayal. I opened my eyes quickly as my heart couldn't bear to see that look on her face again.

After that night, Tsunade gave me another week off and Sakura never came by or said anything to me when I came to visit Sasuke. I was right…I've been casted aside once more. I took the time to continue training on my own but one day I still felt a bit sluggish, so I stopped and went back home. Without knowing it, I fell asleep the moment I hit the bed. The remaining week was the same as that day and Sakura still wouldn't talk to me so I just worked even harder at training.

Sasuke thought that I had gotten mad at Sakura so he stopped talking to me also. I didn't try to make amends with them so I let things be. Now I was all alone which made leaving the team much easier than I thought. I told myself that this was a good thing and that thought kept me going until the day I was accepted into ANBU and that I was to be stationed in Suna to help Gaara out. I was surprised a bit at Tsunade's offer but I understood that she wanted to keep a good relationship with the sand so she chose me to help sand out.

I walked towards Sasuke's place and knocked on the door and the door opened revealing Sasuke with lipstick marks over his face and his hair unkempt. I ignored it and looked at him while he narrowed his eyes at me. "What are you doing here…dobe?" He asked me in an annoyed tone. I looked behind him and noticed Sakura in nothing but a bed sheet wrapped around her like a toga and caught her eye before she turned away from me. I looked back at Sasuke as spoke. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" Sasuke stared at me long and hard before coming out and closing the door and leaned on it.

"What do you want?" There it was again…the guy who did nothing but help the two of them his whole life, me, was being pushed aside once more. "Look I just wanted to say goodbye. I've been accepted in ANBU and I'm stationed in Suna to help Gaara out. I just wanted to tell you that." Sasuke looked at me and nodded slowly, understanding my reason before he spoke out. "…Well I guess I'll see you whenever I'm in Suna…are you going to say goodbye to Sakura?" I shook my head and I put up the wall I built around my heart once more and said. "Nah…I don't think she'd want to see me…she's still mad at me…you can tell her though."

I had turned around to leave before remembering my other purpose for going there. I turned back to Sasuke who was just about to open his door. "Sasuke!" He looked at me and waited for me to speak. I took a deep breath and destroyed all I could of my feelings for her. "I need to…pass something onto you…you see, when you were gone, I was Sakura-chan's bodyguard even though she hated it whenever I intruded with her fights. But now that you're back, I'm giving the position to you…since it was supposed to be yours in the first place. Please take good care of her."

Sasuke's look became softer as I handed him his old headband back. He looked back to me and smiled softly. "I will…dobe…don't worry I'll take good care of her." I nodded, relieved at his answer before turning back around and leaving. I held my hand up and said, "Ja ne!" over my shoulder. I walked towards the gates where my things were already and saw Temari waiting for me.

As I began to leave Konoha, something tugged at my heart and it made look over my shoulder maybe in hopes to see her but I wasn't expecting anything. But as I looked behind me, I could vividly see a lone figure running towards me so I squint my eyes to see who it is and to my surprise, it was her. The love of my life had come to see me off. I stopped and turned back towards her, making Temari stop also, and I ran towards her. Her figure became more and more clearer and I could finally see her face where there were tears. I couldn't help but feel a swell in my heart due to the fact that I made her cry once more.

"Naruto!"

She ran into my arms crying with Sasuke who was behind her and stopped just a few feet away from us. I welcomed her in my arms and held her, relishing her scent so I could never forget. She started to mumble incoherent words that made me raise my eyebrow for a moment. "What did you say Sakura-chan?" She looked up at me and hiccupped before replying.

"..baka…I'm so sorry…why do you have to leave? Why didn't you say goodbye to me? Do I not mean anything to you anymore?" I smiled warmly at her and brushed her tears away before looking at Sasuke, asking permission with my eyes who nodded in return. He turned around to give us our privacy.

"…you're the baka Sakura-chan…I have to leave…this is a good step to becoming Hokage so Gaara is going to help me with foreign diplomacy while I help him with training their new generation of genins……as for why I didn't say goodbye to you was because when I looked at you earlier, you didn't seem to want to see me so…I didn't want to force you to…"

That last part earned me a pretty harsh hit on my arm which I winced at before cupping her face in my hands. She looked at me and I looked at her with all the love in the world in my eyes so she could see how much she means to me. I started to speak to finish her last question. "And…you not meaning anything to me? What the hell is that? Of course you mean something to me…you mean the world to me. I……love you so…much that I would give up my own happiness for your own."

She was speechless at my words because she was never sure of my true feelings for her. She couldn't help but let a few tears fall down once more. She then started to whisper out.

"Baka!! Why do you love…such a b-bitch like me?"

I smiled at her and leaned in, with all the remaining courage left in me, and kissed her briefly, memorizing how soft her lips were and how sweet she tasted. I personally felt that our lips fit so well against one another but I didn't want to let it prolong anymore so I pulled away to see a cute flush on her face as she was shocked at my actions. I grinned and answered her question once more. "…because…you're Sakura-chan…you like to eat ramen even though you wish you didn't…you drool a bit in your sleep when you're really tired…you slap my arm every time I make you laugh…you hit me whenever I say something out of line so you could knock some sense into me…you put your friends first before thinking about yourself……everything about you is what made me fall in love with you…in my eyes…you're perfect…"

Temari didn't want to intrude in our moment but she had to, to save time to get back to Suna. "Naruto! Come on! We have to get going, Gaara is expecting us." I looked back at her and nodded. I looked at Sakura before kissing her forehead and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry…I forgive you. And besides, I'll be coming by to visit every once and a while." She leaned away from me and nodded with a small smile on her face. "I'm…sorry Naruto……I wanted to give you a chance that day…but Sasuke came back…and I really love him."

Even though my heart felt like it was destroyed once more, I took a deep breath and gave her a whole-hearted smile. "I know…that's why I'm happy…because now you're happy."

I let her go and stepped away from her, letting her arms drop to her side. "I have to go now but I'll come by often. But if I can't, you and Sasuke should come by." She nodded at my request and started to wave bye to me. I saw Sasuke, who still had his back to us, and called him out, making him turn around and stand by Sakura. "See ya later teme…when I come by, you better be free because you still owe me a spar." Sasuke smirked and nodded.

I turned around fully and caught up with Temari, this time not looking back at them knowing it would make it even harder to leave. As I noticed where we were already, I was pretty sure that the gates were out of view but then a voice called out to me.

"BYE NARUTO!!! YOU BETTER NOT FORGET ABOUT ME!!!!" I laughed at her yelling before throwing up a hand to wave behind me.

_Goodbye Sakura-chan…even though you may not love me…I will forever love you…but as for now…I need to concentrate on becoming Hokage…I now know that this was the right direction for me because it lead me back to you and this can finally open a new set of doors for me…because right now, I need a new start…but like what I said…I will always be there for you whenever you need me because I love you…and because I am your bodyguard._

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really enjoyed writing it so please REVIEW and give me feedback on what you liked and what you didn't liked. Also if you are reading my other fic, "Emerald Eyes Meet Sapphire Skies", I'm planning to change the title because I ended up not liking it so if you have any other suggestions, please include it within your review. Thanks guys and I'll update that story soon!!!!**


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